For many people prepping means stockpiling stuff and be done with it. However I would say this is only a tiny part of being truly prepared. Of course, it is easy to do and doesn’t require a huge change in one’s lifestyle. But in order to increase your state of readiness, I think we have to leave our comfort zone and look at prepping aspects many (purposely) forget, because they really su**.
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Get rid of addictions
“But coffee, cigarettes and alcohol are such a good bartering items…” Let’s be honest here, you stockpile most of that for yourself. We try to justify our addictions. Let’s take coffee as an example. I for myself used to be quite a bad caffeine addict and I can tell you that getting rid it was not fun. I felt horrible, without energy and was in a bad mood for 3 weeks. It is definitely not something I would recommend attempting when times are tough. Also, now that my body is not used to caffeine anymore if I am really tired half a cup of coffee is going to give me energy for hours. Getting rid of addictions is going to both improve your chances during SHTF and improve your life in normal times.
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Lose weight and get fit
Being fat is not healthy. There, I said it. Therefore, take care of your diet and start getting physically fit. You don’t nessecariyl have to hit the gym. Things like manually splitting your own firewood, hiking (with a tramping backpack), running or hunting are physical activities which will improve other skills as well. I do believe that especially hiking or tramping are extremely important. Even though many people don’t plan to bug out, there is a chance that you’ll be forced to leave your home and cover a distance with a heavy backpack on your back. Gardening, farming or beekeeping are other activities that both help you become more self-sustainable, practice valuable skills and improve your fitness.
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Improve your health
Fixing your health issues starts with simple things like making the dentist appointment for that sore tooth which is bothering you TODAY. But you can take this even further. It might be a controversial topic and I’m not a doctor. However, there are ways to improve upon certain “uncurable” illnesses and reducing one’s dependency on medication. As an example, there are a lot of stories of people reversing their diabetes or rheumatic arthritis by following a strict Keto or Carnivore diet. Doing your own research about root causes and alternative treatment methods can pay off, and is often worth a try.
In any type of SHTF situation it will be hard if not impossible to come by certain medications, thus it is advisable to have extra stores. However, for any long-term disruptions this will not be feasible, eventually you will run out.
Taking care of your own health and trying to make yourself as independent as possible from pharmaceutical products is generally a good idea, but it depends of course on your individual situation whether that is possible.
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Get rid of victim mentality
An acquired personality trait known as a victim mentality causes individuals to frequently see themselves as victims. They keep telling themselves that “it is xxx’s fault” and that they cannot do anything about it. As a result, they feel too powerless to influence the course of their lives.
The opposite of victimhood would be accountability. Even if things might not be your fault, your circumstances are nonetheless under your control. It doesn’t mean that you caused them. It simply means that you have the capacity to react to your situation and alter the course of your life. Think of a sailing ship on the ocean, while you can not control the wind, you do control the steering of the ship.
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Being financially prepared is important
Don’t be one of those people who have enormous supplies of equipment but live pay check to pay check, has a large credit card debt load, and does not have an emergency fund.
Many preppers will argue that during SHTF money will be useless anyway and they see themselves bartering for items. While that might be true for a severe SHTF scenario, we are more likely to experience a limited catastrophe that will not wipe out our civilization. Think of you simply losing your job because of economic pressures or a power outage for a few hours to a few days. Having a bit of cash on the sidelines will be very helpful during those situations.
After all being prepared means reducing the likelihood of negative situations severely affecting your life and the ability to handle them if they occur. A sensible prepper will plan according to the emergencies they are most likely to encounter.
Day-dreaming about a zombie apocalypse might be entertaining and it certainly has some merit to be prepared for such severe situations it remains unlikely.